Putney Bridge: 1793

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Putney Bridge. Coloured aquatint. View of Putney Bridge, with boats on the river and a group of fishermen casting a net from the shore. From 'A History of the River Thames', J. & J. Boydell, London: 1793-96. Boydell's famous work on the Thames, with plates after Joseph Farington, takes the form of a journey, illustrated by prints with descriptions, starting at Thames Head near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, via Oxford, Henley, Reading, London, and ending where the river enters the North Sea. The author and artist depict interesting features and landmarks along the way, including excursions along all the major tributaries. Eventually the rural riverscape gives way to the metropolis where the river widens out and becomes a major thoroughfare for trade and shipping to the North Sea.